Team USA Scholarship Winners Begin On-Track Preparations in EnglandThe last few weeks have seemed like a blur for 2013 Team USA Scholarship winners Joey Bickers and Jake Eidson. After emerging through an interview process in August at Mid-Ohio and a final selection shootout last month at Andersen RacePark in Palmetto, Fla., Bickers and Eidson attended a two-day session at CXC Simulations in Los Angeles before traveling to England last week to continue preparations for their assault on this weekend’s Formula Ford Festival at Brands Hatch and the following week’s Walter Hayes Trophy (named after the founding father of Formula Ford) at Silverstone.

Kenseth crashes during testing at Texas Motor SpeedwayMatt Kenseth had his testing at Texas Motor Speedway cut short when he crashed his car because of an issue with his front right tire.

Two days after losing his NASCAR Sprint Cup points lead with a 20th-place finish at Talladega, Kenseth had the session-ending crash Tuesday during a week-delayed Texas test that includes the top eight drivers in the points standings.

"Well, it was up and down. It ended down,'' Kenseth said. ''We just had a tire problem and crashed, so we're done for the test. ... When you run nine laps and one blows apart for no reason, that's always a cause for concern for sure."

Big names to participate in Wheldon karting eventA week after dueling for the Firestone Indy Lights championship at Auto Club Speedway in California, Sage Karam and Gabby Chaves will be karting teammates in the inaugural Dan Wheldon Memorial Pro-Am Karting Challenge at New Castle (Ind.) Motorsports Park.

The timed 2-hour race Oct. 26 beginning at 12:30 p.m. (ET) features INDYCAR drivers, team owner Bryan Herta and special guests comprising teams competing on the one-mile serpentine circuit. Admission is free and competitors will participate in an autograph session at 11:45 a.m.

NASCAR driver penalized for tweetNASCAR has placed Richard Petty Motorsports development driver Corey LaJoie on indefinite probation and will require him to undergo sensitivity training for an insensitive tweet.

The 22-year-old LaJoie, the son of former Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) champion Randy LaJoie, competes part time in the NASCAR K&N East Series as well as in ARCA. He is expected to run Nationwide races next year for RPM.

NASCAR did not release Wednesday what LaJoie was penalized for, but LaJoie received some backlash for this tweet Oct. 15:

Hand-tied by low TV ratings, yet another Indy exec jumps ship[Editor's Note: You cannot expect anyone to be successful on the commercial side of the business when you hand tie them with 0.15 TV ratings just so you can pocket the big NBC Sports Network check.]

Hulman & Co. CEO Mark Miles is still looking for a chief executive to oversee the commercial side of the IndyCar Series and Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The resignation this month of Mike Redlick, IMS’ chief sales and marketing officer, likely adds a little urgency to Miles’ methodical search. Redlick, who has nearly 15 years of experience working for NFL and NBA franchises, joined the Speedway in March 2011. No indication has been given as to why Redlick resigned.

Redlick's resignation is the second big blow to Miles' sales staff in recent months. Greg Gruning, IndyCar’s executive vice president of corporate sales and the series’ point man in brokering big sponsorship deals, resigned in late June.

IndyCar praying in vain Dixon Can Raise Profile Of Sport Despite Low-Key PersonalityThe Izod IndyCar Series needs this year's series champion Scott Dixon "to be as much of a winner off the track as he is on it" by promoting "the unnoticed qualities of the sport as Izod, GoDaddy and other supporters depart," according to Curt Cavin of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR.

Dixon is "quiet and deferring, but he has a wit so dry that his perspective is always interesting." He also has "the credentials to lead." Dixon "knows it’s time to speak up, and he thinks he can." He said, "I think I have evolved as a person in a lot of ways from the 2003 championship. Yeah, I do feel I’m up for that task. Is that my strong point? Maybe not. Is that something that Helio [Castroneves] or maybe some other driver may be a little bit better at? Maybe." But Dixon said he is "excited" to capitalize on the opportunities. INDIANAPOLIS STAR.

USA TODAY's Jeff Olson wrote, "The question beyond Dixon's obvious skill is whether a quiet, thoughtful, unassuming driver can carry a struggling sport driven by personality." That is the "dilemma facing IndyCar and Dixon." He is "known and respected inside the sport, but beyond the boundaries of motorsports he has little recognition" USA TODAY

Red Bull's rivals lack consistency - Marko(GMM) Red Bull's rivals are barking up the wrong tree if they are looking for a hidden secret to the world champion team's recent successes.

With a mere fifth this weekend in India, Sebastian Vettel will guarantee an easy romp to a fourth consecutive drivers' world championship, while the Austrian team is also leagues ahead in the constructors' race.

Ferrari boss Stefano Domenicali, however, admits that boffins in the F1 paddock are currently scratching their heads to work out the secret behind Red Bull's stellar season, amid talk of 'strange' engine mapping settings.

"Everyone is trying to work that out," Domenicali is quoted by the official Ferrari website.

“I was in a dark moment and it happened,’’ Parrott told host Eli Gold.

Parrott declined to reveal what banned substance he took. NASCAR indefinitely suspended him Thursday. Richard Petty Motorsports officials stated Tuesday that Parrott, who had been Aric Almirola’s crew chief, was no longer with the organization.

Dalziel signs with ESMEndurance race ace Ryan Dalziel has agreed a sensational move to Extreme Speed Motorsports and will tackle the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship in the Prototype class in 2014.

DTM Boss Says Racing Series Needs More StarsThe German Touring Car Championship (DTM) season ended on Sunday with former F1 driver Timo Glock winning his first race, but the Chair of DTM rights holder and promoter ITR, Hans-Werner Aufrecht, said that "changes have to be made for the upcoming season," according to SPORT1. Aufrecht: "We have to ask ourselves the question, what can we do to fascinate the spectators even more." Due to several confusing regulation changes, the series "recently received increased criticism from its fans." Aufrecht said, "The clarity of the races has to be improved again for fans in the future." However, Aufrecht "sees the DTM's biggest potential in the quality of drivers." He said, "We have to rethink the format and ask ourselves if we need stars in the DTM. I say, 'yes.'" SPORT1

Wilson transported to hospital (4th Update)UPDATE #4 Dale Coyne Racing driver Justin Wilson was released from Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, Calif., on Oct. 21 and returned to his home in Colorado. Wilson sustained non-operable pelvic fractures and a small pulmonary contusion in a multi-car accident on Lap 111 of the MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway on Oct. 19.

10/21/13

Justin Wilson

Justin Wilson will return to his home in Longmont, Colo., following hospitalization for injuries sustained Saturday during a crash in the IndyCar season finale.

Wilson, 34, was transported from Auto Club Speedway to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton, Calif., for treatment of three non-operable pelvic fractures and a small pulmonary contusion. He was held overnight for further observation, according to Dr. Michael Olinger, IndyCar's medical director.

Richard Petty Motorsports Names Interim Crew Chief for AlmirolaRichard Petty Motorsports (RPM) announced today Greg Ebert will serve as the interim crew chief for the No. 43 Ford and driver Aric Almirola starting this weekend at Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. Ebert will fulfill this role on an interim basis for the remainder of the season.

Ebert has served in the role of car chief of the No. 43 Ford for the past two seasons and has been a car chief with RPM since its inception. Before joining RPM, Ebert spent nine years at Roush Fenway Racing serving the last five of those seasons as the car chief for Matt Kenseth.

When asked on Tuesday about the 19-year-old Russian's leap straight from GP3 to Toro Rosso, McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale said it was a "very big step".

McLaren is bringing new Formula Renault 3.5 champion Kevin Magnussen and runner-up Stoffel Vandoorne through the ranks, but Neale suggested the move to the new turbo V6 rules next year is a big enough challenge "without throwing a young driver into the mix".

Pirelli: Indian GP will be a two-stopperPirelli motorsport director, Paul Hembery has predicted most drivers will opt for two stops during the Indian Grand Prix this weekend.

In previous years the Italian company has nominated the hard and soft compound tires for the event at the Buddh International Circuit, however, this time they have gone for a ‘slightly more aggressive choice’, with medium tires replacing the hards.

“We’ve decided to go for the P Zero White medium and P Zero Yellow soft tires in India this year, which we think will be the best combination for the Buddh circuit and lead to closer racing,” explained Hembery.

Despite small crowds ABC delivering big TV ratings for NASCARThe crowd for the recent NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway was so thin you probably could have run buffalo through the stands and not have been in danger of hurting anyone.

Now that was the bad news. The good news is that TV ratings have been up for four of the first five Sprint Cup races run as part of the Chase.

At Charlotte, ratings were up 6 percent, and that is very good seeing that it took place on ABC during prime time. Of course, there is not much else to watch on TV on Saturday nights unless you have a Netflix deal. [Editor's Note: NASCAR is leaving ABC for NBC, opening the door open for ABC to be the exclusive TV partner for IndyCar. Will IndyCar continue to pocket NBC Sports Network's check and run the series into the ground, or will they take advantage of the door open at ABC and jump through it. It's the ratings stupid!]

(GMM) The F1 world got a surprise this week when Toro Rosso announced Daniil Kvyat, a Russian teenager, as Daniel Ricciardo's 2014 successor.

We reported on Monday that, although Antonio Felix da Costa has been the obvious favorite for the seat, fellow Red Bull junior Kvyat had jumped to the front of the queue thanks to 'a group of Russian sponsors'.

Italy's Italiaracing said one of them is SMP, a Russian group.

Earlier, Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost had said Rome-based Kvyat, who is the first driver to leap straight to F1 from GP3, was too young for 2014.

It's all about the ratings! (Update)UPDATE The article has been updated to reflect calculations to show how much more appealing IndyCar would be to a sponsor if all the races were on ABC - note the text in blue. If IndyCar would do this all the teams would have an easier time landing a sponsor, some big name sponsors would come into the series, and they would have a starting point to actually grow the sport instead of shrinking it, which is what is happening today. Oh, and about wanting to land a third engine manufacturer - put all the races on ABC and have ESPN International distribute all the races internationally and now you might actually be able to land one. If you reach an international audience the CPM for IndyCar would rival NASCAR Sprint Cup. Now you can sell some real serious sponsorship. So IndyCar has a choice, pocket the NBC Sports Network money and continue to run the sport into the ground, or make an investment (with clear financial returns) and partnership with ABC and begin to return IndyCar to the days of CART. It's the ratings stupid! Mark C.

10/21/13 A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, Regarding the article on IndyCar, It's The Ratings Stupid, I finally understand what you have been trying to say. I thought it was due to a lack of fans that was causing the low ratings, but I see it is a chicken or egg thing and you have to have sponsors to have a series. If you have good sponsors they can help you win new fans. The racing is great, but nobody watches NBC Sports Network. Billy Burch

Dear Billy, Indeed. At least ABC will deliver ratings consistently in the 1.0 range and you can build from that. You can't build on a rating of 0.1 with 150K tuned in, which is what they have been getting as of late. They prefer to collect that check from NBC Sports Network than grow the series. There is no other explanation. But I guess after Anton blew most of the family wealth killing off the most successful IndyCar series ever (CART) they are pinching their pennies while celebrating their phyric victory. Mark C.

NASCAR'S Drug policy is still on trackDespite the fact that we have been well aware of NASCAR's strict position on substance abuse for several years now, it doesn't make it any less shocking to us when that policy has to be enforced. The most recent announcements from NASCAR, regarding substance abuse, literally came within two days of each other.

The first announcement came on October 15th and said that Marshall Faust, a crew member from the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, had been indefinitely suspended for violating two sections of the NASCAR rule book: 12-1, actions detrimental to stock car racing, and section 19, violation of the NASCAR substance abuse policy.

Formula Renault 3.5 sets 2014 scheduleNo sooner has the 2013 season come to an end than the 2014 edition has been launched. In what will be its tenth season, the World Series by Renault will feature seven meetings staged at a mix of now-familiar tracks and new venues. Jerez de la Frontera makes its debut on the calendar and the Nürburgring its return, while the Monaco race, the curtain-raiser for the Formula One Grand Prix, remains the centerpiece of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series season.

Season ten of the World Series by Renault will observe a now well-established tradition, with Renault Sport Technologies’ Fast, Free and Fun event roaring into action in late April at Motorland Aragon, where races in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series, Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and Eurocup Clio will all be on the card.

Dempsey Racing to Continue Porsche Race ProgramAfter completing their initial season together with a podium result at this past weekend’s Petit Le Mans in the No. 27 Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, Patrick Dempsey’s and Dempsey Racing’s race competition programs will continue with Porsche the next two years in an expanded and formalized promotional and brand cooperation relationship.

Fan dies in Talladega campgroundCarbon-monoxide poisoning is being blamed as the cause of death of a Tennessee man at Talladega Superspeedway on Saturday morning. The Talladega County Sheriff's Department said Craig Franklin Morgan, 46, of Murfreesboro, Tenn., died at the campground. Morgan and his wife, Jami Allison Morgan, 38, were discovered unresponsive by friends who went into their RV at the South Campground outside the track. Jami Morgan was unconscious and was airlifted to UAB Hospital, where she remained in critical condition and unconscious Monday morning. Police said the carbon monoxide apparently leaked from the exhaust system of the family's RV. Fox Sports

Two pole positions and two race victories provided Kevin Magnussen with the perfect sign-off to his stunning championship-winning season.

The newly crowned World Series by Renault title winner, and one of McLaren’s Young Driver hopefuls, has utterly dominated the junior series, continually tightening the grip on the championship with a string of stunning results towards the season’s conclusion.

Understandably, after such a strong year, all eyes are on the young Dane’s future.

“I’m very proud about my record in 2013,” says Kevin. “Now the aim is for Formula 1 next year. That’s what I’ve been aiming at for a long time. The time is now – I’m as ready as you can get.”

Dixon collects a cool $1 millionLess than 24 hours after winning his third IZOD IndyCar Series championship, Scott Dixon got his chance to celebrate.

Dixon and Firestone Indy Lights champion Sage Karam - along with other drivers, teams and manufacturers - were recognized during the INDYCAR Championship Celebration at the Globe Theatre at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., the parent of INDYCAR, presented Dixon and team owner Chip Ganassi with a $1 million championship bonus check and replicas of the Astor Challenge Cup, the IZOD IndyCar Series championship trophy.

Can racing in the USA be fixed?A reader asks, Dear Ar1.com, Back in the 60's, 70's and 80's, racing was a niche sport. Tony George had a vision, the France family had expensive habits and they both tried to make racing a main stream sport. The IndyCar story has been told many times and destroyed open wheel racing. The France family obviously did a better job, but then greed took over and sponsorship got expensive and the average fan could no longer afford to attend an event.

The IndyCar race Saturday night has enough seats available to invite a medium size city. The NASCAR race at Talladega had a large number of empty sections.

A great finale: to conclude the season, the DTM fans got to see an action-packed rain race with plenty of surprises at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg. After entertaining overtaking maneuvers, numerous door-to-door duels and spins of the DTM drivers, Timo Glock crossed the finish line as the winner with his BMW M3 DTM from Spaniard Roberto Merhi (Mercedes-Benz) and Bruno Spengler (BMW) from Canada.

Accompanied by a fireworks display, the 31-year old celebrated his maiden victory in the DTM to conclude his rookie season. For Glock, it was his first race win since his victory in the GP2 season finale at Valencia in September 2007. “This weekend, the car was very good from the beginning. I was able to control the race in spite of the rain. I want to thank Roberto for the great and fair duels. Today, we will have a decent party,” the ex-Formula 1 driver said after his successful race.

Tony Stewart's infection has responded to treatment, and he should be cleared within two weeks for physical therapy, said Greg Zipadelli, competition director at Stewart-Haas Racing. Stewart had a third surgery on his right leg Oct. 7 for an infection. He noted in an online video chat this week on NASCAR.com he was looking forward to a doctor's visit to see how the leg was responding. Zipadelli said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway that "everything looked as good as it possibly could" with Stewart's leg.

Stewart's health was only part of the good news this week at Stewart-Haas Racing. Crew chief Rodney Childers tweeted Friday that he can begin work at the shop next week. Childers will be Kevin Harvick's crew chief next season. Zipadelli said that Michael Waltrip Racing released Childers from his contract, allowing Childers to begin working at Stewart-Haas Racing before the end of the season. Zipadelli said having Childers in the shop will be beneficial. Motor Racing Network

Gordon sells NYC condo for $25 millionJeff Gordon is still a fan of New York City and still has a place there. He just might not have as good a view of the city skyline as he used to have.

The four-time Cup champion doesn’t have the condo at 15 Central Park West anymore. The New York Daily News reported Friday that the sales price was $25 million for the 3,454-square-foot condo, which sold a couple of months ago. That was $5 million below the listed price but way more than the $9.7 million Gordon and his wife, Ingrid Vandebosch, paid for the condo in 2007, according to the report. “Man, that’s amazing,” Gordon said feigning surprise Friday about the sale of the condo.

Sponsors flee IndyCarFontana was a good news-bad news weekend on the sponsorship front for the IndyCar Series.

Although Andretti Autosport attracted a new sponsor in order to run Oakville’s James Hinchcliffe in the 2014 season, the series lost its title sponsor, a race sponsor (unexpectedly, it seems) and two high profile team sponsors just this weekend. (See related rumor)

And some of the pay-driver chickens are coming home to roost. Because of political changes in his homeland, there’s a question whether Venezuelan pilot E.J. Viso (who missed the last IndyCar race Saturday night in California) will be able to continue his big-league racing career. (F1 driver Pastor Maldonado is in the same boat but that's grist for another column.)

It used to be 100K TonyA reader writes, Dear AR1.com, I attended Saturday night’s 500 Mile race at Auto Club Speedway along with my two boys, ages 15 and 11 and their friends. This was the first Speedway race that they have attended with me. On the way to the track, I described for them that in the CART heyday, about 100,000 fans attended the main race, and usually 30,000 - 40,000 watched the Indy Lights race. I described how Tony George, scion of the family who owns IMS and a baking powder fueled fortune, created the Indy Race League and split the open wheel community in two.

Abu Dhabi Sports To Live Telecast Abu Dhabi F1 GPThe Etihad F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, "one of the region's most awaited annual sports events," will be telecast live on the Abu Dhabi Sports network channels 2 and 6, according to GULF NEWS. Starting Monday, Abu Dhabi Sports will launch the F1 coverage, which will include eight special programs and documentaries "along with three weekly shows from the network's archives on the history of Formula 1 as well as the biographies of prominent F1 drivers." The Grand Prix is scheduled for Nov. 1-3, "with daily 12-hour live coverage from several correspondents located across Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi." Gulf News

F1's Red Bull Racing Boosts WPP Sponsorship Revenues By Almost 60%Red Bull Racing's dominance in F1 "doesn't just have an impact on the team and its stakeholders," according to Christian Sylt of PITPASS. A report reveals that revenues at Prism, the largest sponsorship agency of advertising company WPP, rose 57.7% to £27.6M last year, "driven by increased work with several brands connected to Red Bull Racing."

Many of Prism's clients are focused on F1 "with its roster including luxury car brand Infiniti and watch manufacturer Casio." Both are partners of Red Bull Racing, which looks set to clinch its fourth consecutive championship at next weekend's Indian Grand Prix. In addition to its work in motor racing, Prism "also has clients in other sports including the Olympics, football's Champions League and the World Cup." Pitpass

TOYOTA Racing was declared the winner of the Six Hours of Fuji after heavy rain prevented any real racing in the sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Three short safety car periods in heavy rain were the only action for a large crowd, who saw the #7 TS030 HYBRID of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima classified in first place on a frustrating day for all.

The weather denied the #8 of Anthony Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Stephane Sarrazin any chance to improve its position after a pre-race delay and it finished 27th.

Video: Big wreck in IndyCar season finaleThe wreck that injured Justin Wilson. He hit one of Fontana's infamous seams. Why is IndyCar racing at a track with such seams in the asphalt and why is their season finale at a track where the grandstands are mostly empty making the series look like a loser? Curious minds want to know why the season finale is not at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway before 100,000+ fans instead of 20,000 in Fontana on a track with a surface that causes crashes and so much debris the teams need a shop-van to clean out the radiators during pitstops? Well if you watch racing for crashes, then Fontana is your track.

Sauter wins crash marred Truck raceHis truck intact and headed in a straight line as most of the rest of the lead-lap trucks wrecked behind him, Johnny Sauter crossed the finish line first in Saturday's Fred’s 250 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Talladega Superspeedway.

Behind Sauter -- chaos. Coming to the checkered flag with a huge run through the tri-oval, Jeb Burton spun off the bumper of Miguel Paludo and flashed up the track into the Toyota of Kyle Busch, who was pushing Dakoda Armstrong toward the finish.

Andretti announces switch from Chevy to HondaIndyCar champions Andretti Autosport announced today that the team led by racing legend Michael Andretti will return to IndyCar Series competition in 2014 with Honda-powered machines as part of a multi-year agreement.

"We look forward to working with Honda again; for us, it's like being back home. I have no doubt that together we will see great success," said Michael Andretti, the team's Chairman, President and CEO.

Sage Karam knew he didn't have to press for the victory in the Lefty's Kids Club 100 to secure the Firestone Indy Lights championship. So even a grid penalty didn't upset the plan developed for the 50-lap race.

Patience aided the 18 year old from Nazareth, Pa., who clinched his first title with a third-place finish. It is the seventh series title for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

Carlos Munoz, driving the No. 26 Dialy-Ser car for Andretti Autosport, won his fourth race of the season, holding off Gabby Chaves by 0.9966 of a second. Karam was 3.7 seconds behind.

Once Karam, who started at the rear of the field, moved to third early in race, he settled in to collect the points necessary to secure the title by 11 points over his Schmidt Peterson Motorsports teammate. Karam entered the race with a 16-point advantage.

Chevrolet statement regarding Andretti Autosport's move to Honda“We’d like to thank Michael Andretti and the entire Andretti Autosport organization for their partnership in IndyCar Series competition during 2012 and 2013,” said Jim Campbell, U.S. Vice President Performance Vehicles and Motorsports. “Michael, J-F Thormann and John Lopes lead a quality organization that resulted in Ryan Hunter-Reay winning the 2012 IndyCar Series driver championship. We would like to thank the Andretti Autosport drivers for their on-track achievements that contributed to Chevrolet clinching the 2012 manufacturers’ championship. They are all true professionals on and off the track. We wish them well and look forward to spirited competition in the future.”

Pro Mazda Championship's 2013 Champion Matthew Brabham will pilot the United Fiber & Data/MAZDASPEED car with Andretti Autosport for the 2014 Indy Lights season. The 19-year-old from Boca Raton, FL garnered 13 wins and 15 podium finishes during the 2013 season - both new series records - clinching the title at the Grand Prix of Trois-Rivieres in August.

The third-generation racer will showcase the colors of United Fiber & Data (UFD) - a tech company based in York, Penn. who offer a complete suite of all-fiber networking and broadband solutions, who also currently serve as an associate sponsor on the No. 25 IndyCar driven by Marco Andretti. UFD will feature a 400-mile fiber optic line running between New York and Virginia and will operate out of different data centers across Pennsylvania (Allentown, Lancaster, Reading and York).

Hinchcliffe and his beautiful girlfriend Kirsten will remain fixtures on the IndyCar circuit

IZOD IndyCar Series multiple race winner James Hinchcliffe will return to the team with which he captured his first career victory. The reigning series champions, Andretti Autosport, confirmed today that the Canadian fan favorite will pilot an Andretti Autosport Indy car for the 2014 IndyCar championship.

Hinchcliffe's No. 27 machine will don the colors of United Fiber & Data (UFD), a tech company, founded by three members of the multi-platinum rock band LIVE and their Think Loud Development company. UFD will also serve as a major associate on the No. 25 and No. 28 cars piloted by Marco Andretti and Ryan Hunter-Reay, respectively. In addition, Andretti announced earlier today that the company will serve as the primary sponsor for Pro Mazda Champion Matthew Brabham as he transitions to Indy Lights in 2014.

Zach Veach, pole sitter for this weekend's Lefty's Kids Club 100 at Auto Club Speedway, will compete in a second Indy Lights season, returning to Andretti Autosport in 2014 with RePLAY XD sponsorship.

The Mazda Road to Indy veteran first joined Andretti in 2010 and competed for two seasons in the USF2000 National Championship, securing the 2011 USF2000 Winterfest Championship. In 2012 Veach competed full time to the Pro Mazda Championship and moved to Indy Lights in 2013.

In addition to being a developing star on track, Veach has an impressive portfolio off track and in the community.

AR1.com president Mark Cipolloni drove the Fontana track in 1999 in a CART Driving 101 IndyCar

One driver described them as canyons. Another called them treacherous. Another said they were troublesome, but not any worse than last year.

Without question, though, Saturday's IndyCar season finale at Auto Club Speedway will be affected by the track's notorious seams.

"I don't think it's gotten any worse over the last 12 months, but certainly it's the biggest challenge of this race track," James Hinchcliffe told USA TODAY Sports after Friday's qualifying session. "It makes these cars very edgy to drive with the downforce levels we're running."

Defending world champion Jorge Lorenzo became the fastest motorcycle rider ever around the Phillip Island circuit today, taking pole position for tomorrow’s Australian Grand Prix. The 15-minute qualifying heat began in normal fashion with Lorenzo the first man out on track. Drama immediately unfolded as he collided with a seagull coming over Lukey Heights.

The uninvited passenger did nothing to slow Lorenzo down as he stormed to a provisional pole time of 1’28.681, breaking the pole record set by Casey Stoner in 2008. Rival Marc Marquez was quick to take back the top spot, leaving Lorenzo in second position as he headed back in for the first tire change with eight minutes remaining of the session.

At round six of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in Japan, Audi achieved the fifth consecutive best time of the season with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. As at Spa and São Paulo, Marcel Fassler/Andre Lotterer/Benoît Treluyer managed to leap onto the top spot of the grid.

Car number ‘1’ made its mark immediately in the qualifying session at the foot of the snow-covered Mount Fuji. Andre Lotterer (D) started qualifying in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro with a lap time of 1m 26.481s and on his next outing posted a 1m 26.235 as the fastest time of the entire qualifying session. Consequently the German who lives in Tokyo clearly beat the existing qualifying lap record, 1.264 seconds slower set by Toyota driver Kazuki Nakajima 12 months ago. Lotterer subsequently turned his car over to Benoît Treluyer (F). The average of the four best laps from which the WEC qualifying result is calculated reflected a time of 1m 26.577s for the fastest Audi.

With its 0.1 TV ratings GoDaddy is one of many sponsors leaving the IndyCar paddock. If you add up the lost sponsorship dollars it far exceeds the check IndyCar is pocketing from NBC Sports Network. Remember CART was getting too big, threatening to overshadow the Indy 500. With this happening it helps to ensure the series stays miniscule and never threatens the Indy 500 in popularity again.

Andretti Autosport will announce a new primary sponsor Saturday to replace GoDaddy next season on the car currently driven by James Hinchcliffe. As GoDaddy prepares for a global launch next year its spending allocation had to be re-evaluated. GoDaddy currently sponsors #10-Danica Patrick in NASCAR and Hinchcliffe in IndyCar, and [CEO Blake Irving] Irving decided IndyCar didn't make fiscal sense (how can it with 0.1 TV ratings?).

"We looked at our customer acquisition costs and it's an audience size issue," Irving said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "The customer acquisition costs between the web, between regular TV and between NASCAR and IndyCar, IndyCar is the most expensive acquisition vehicle we have. It was pretty expensive on a per customer cost."

I raced, too: Buddy ArringtonA reader writes, Dear AR1.com, I really enjoyed your story on Buddy Arrington. I leased Buddy his Amoco service station in the 1960's . I was told by my supervisor never to lease a service station to a race car driver because it would never be clean.

Buddy kept his station cleaner than any of the 15 other stations I was responsible for as a Sales Representative for The American Oil Co. He allowed kids to come in and see the race car, but they had to leave after just 15 minutes. Buddy was one of the best dealers I had.

In his 2nd year of racing at Daytona, I drove his dad to the race. Buddy sold his car before the start of the race. We told the buyers that I was a part owner, and I checked on the validity of the Western Union money orders that they gave us on race day as the car sat on the track. The new owners then won enough money to buy the trailer from Buddy to haul the car. Sent from my iPad, Ron Lykens

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